In a February CNN-Time poll, 76 percent of those surveyed felt
Saddam provides assistance to al Qaeda. Another poll released in
February asked, "Was Saddam Hussein personally involved in the
September 11 attacks?" Although it is a claim the Bush
administration has never made and for which there is no evidence, 72
percent said it was either very or somewhat likely. . . .

[". . . President Bush and his top lieutenants have produced a long
list of Iraqi offenses, culminating Sunday with Vice President
Cheney's assertion that Iraq has "reconstituted nuclear weapons."
Previously, administration officials have tied Hussein to al Qaeda,
to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and to an aggressive
production of biological and chemical weapons. Bush reiterated many
of these charges in his address to the nation last night.

"But these assertions are hotly disputed. Some of the
administration's evidence -- such as Bush's assertion that Iraq
sought to purchase uranium -- has been refuted by subsequent
discoveries."--Walter Pincus and Dana Milbank, "Bush Clings To Dubious Allegations About Iraq,"
Washington Post, March 18, 2003]

["Sources knowledgeable about US intelligence say there is no
evidence that Hussein played a role in the Sept. 11 attacks, nor
that he has been or is currently aiding Al Qaeda. Yet the
White
House appears to be encouraging this false impression, as it seeks
to maintain American support for a possible war against Iraq and
demonstrate seriousness of purpose to Hussein's regime."--Linda Feldman,
Christian Science Monitor, March 14, 2003]

[By now, we've become accustomed to the fact that the absence of Iraqi
weapons of mass destruction - the principal public rationale for the war -
hasn't become a big political liability for the administration. That's bad
enough. Even more startling is the news from one of this week's polls:
despite the complete absence of evidence, 53 percent of Americans believe
that Saddam had something to do with 9/11, up from 43 percent before his
capture. The administration's long campaign of guilt by innuendo, it seems,
is still working.--Paul Krugman, "Telling It
Right," New York Times, December 19, 2003]

[It provides a second piece of evidence challenging the Bush administration
contention of close cooperation between Mr. Hussein's government and
terrorists from Al Qaeda. C.I.A. interrogators have already elicited from
the top Qaeda officials in custody that, before the American-led invasion,
Osama bin Laden had rejected entreaties from some of his lieutenants to work
jointly with Mr. Hussein.--James Risen, "Hussein Warned Iraqis to Beware Outside Fighters, Document Says," New
York Times, January 14, 2004]

[In a Newsweek poll last week, 42 percent of Americans still think Saddam
was "directly involved in planning, financing, or carrying out the terrorist
attacks."--Derrick Z. Jackson, "As war toll climbs, Bush
still deceives," Boston Globe, September 10, 2004]